November 15, 2004
Capacitor
Capacity for Charged Performances
Capacitor* is a group of interdisciplinary movement artists that accumulate energy from our technologically impacted culture and release it through innovative, multi-sensory performances. One of their pieces, Avatars (2002), takes the characters and themes of computer games and incorporates them into their performances. (Video clips are available of this performance).
From the movement of the human diaphragm to the story of evolution; from the behavior of electricity to genetic manipulation; from the birth of the moon to the cycles of digestion - science and technology form the basis for Capacitor's study of performance. Obsessed with the mechanics of the human body as well as machines that propel the body through space, Capacitor artists have become masters of rigging systems and large-scale props designed to stretch the limits of physical poetry. [via]
*ca·pac·i·tor (kƒ pas‚i tƒr) n. a device for accumulating and holding a charge of electricity.
To cultivate new and relevant performance concepts, Capacitor developed the Capacitor Lab, a think-tank of artists engineers, scientists and philosophers who exchange ideas, share knowledge, and ignite each other's imaginations towards the creation of innovative performance pieces.
The lively dialogues and debates that take place in the Capacitor Lab bring a broader outlook to the creative process and provide a vehicle for critical feedback as new work is developed. By engendering dialogue around contemporary technological and scientific issues, Capacitor aims to find common ground amongst individuals from varied fields of inquiry and, together, shape a new performance aesthetic built on today's innovations.
Capacitor has created works that tackle the creation of the universe (Within Outer Spaces, 2001), the past and future of mankind (futurespecies, 2000), the modern phenomenon of video gaming (Avatars, 2002) and, most recently, a journey through the visible and invisible layers of the Earth (Digging in the Dark, 2004). Capacitor's uncanny and contemplative use of technology won the company an invitation to speak at the Monaco Dance Forum in 2002 and has been covered by Computer Graphics World, Wired.com, SHIFT Magazine, NBC 11's Tech NOW!, CNET Radio, TECH TV, Dance Magazine and The New York Times.
Founded in 1997, Capacitor is grateful for support from San Francisco's Grants for the Arts, California Arts Council, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Altria Group, Inc., the LEF Foundation, Theatre Bay Area, and the American Composers Forum.
Posted by jo at November 15, 2004 10:35 AM
